This DirectX SDK release contains updates to tools, utilities, samples, documentation, and runtime debug files for x64 and x86 platforms. This release also include a public pre-release Direct3D 10.
For additional information please see Microsoft DirectX Developer Center along with reviewing the Readme for last-minute updates.

What's New in the August 2006 DirectX SDK
This version of the DirectX SDK contains the following new features, tools, and documentation.PIX: Direct3D 9 Shader Debugging
PIX now enables you to debug vertex shaders and pixel shaders inside of a single frame capture. You can step through the assembly instructions, set breakpoints, and restart the shader from the beginning. If the shader was compiled with debug information and if the HLSL source file is available, the source code will be shown as well. Currently the shader debugger shows register contents. In future releases it will also show the contents of HLSL variables and will allow source-level stepping.PIX: Current Mesh Viewing
It is now possible to view the mesh data for the currently selected draw call event. The 3D data is displayed in wireframe and numeric forms for each stage of the rendering pipeline: before vertex processing, after vertex processing, after the geometry shader, and in screen space. This allows you to inspect how the data changes as it flows through the pipeline for each draw call event.XACT: 3D Pan Property
New properties on the Play event allow a sound designer to specify a panning direction for wave playback of mono or multichannel content. See the XACT Event, Play Wave reference for more information.Direct3D 10 Technology Preview
Samples and applications built with the Direct3D ® 10 Technology Preview in the August 2006 DirectX ® SDK require Windows ® Vista ™ RC1 to run. The Windows Vista RC1 will be available to MSDN ® subscribers.
Developers will notice that syntax has changed for several of the Direct3D 10 core APIs between the Windows Vista Beta 2 and Windows Vista RC1. Several APIs have been added, renamed, or removed. For a full list of changes, please refer to the August release notes.New Technical Articles
This release includes three new technical articles:

Coding For Multiple Cores on Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows: gives some advice on how to get started with multithreaded programming.

Making Video Games Accessible: Business Justifications and Design Considerations: descibes how to add basic accessibility features to games.

Skinning10 Sample
The Skinning10 sample demonstrates four different methods to perform skinning on Direct3D 10 hardware.Known Issues with the August 2006 SDKDirectX Control Panel Removed from the Microsoft Control Panel
Beginning with the August 2006 SDK, the DirectX® Control Panel has been removed from the Microsoft® Control Panel. You can now find the DirectX Control Panel in the Start menu under All Programs, Microsoft DirectX SDK, DirectX Utilities.
In addition, the control panel executable has been renamed from directx.cpl to dxcpl.exe; it can be found in both the %DXSDK_DIR%\utilities\bin\x64 and %DXSDK_DIR%\utilities\bin\x86 folders.Direct3D 10 Technology PreviewWindows Vista RC1 Is Required for the Direct3D Technology Preview
The August 2006 Direct3D® 10 Technology Preview is only supported on Windows Vista™ RC1: it is not supported on previous releases of Windows Vista.Direct3D HLSL Compilation Issues
In the August 2006 SDK, there are several issues related to the new HLSL compiler, fxc10.exe:

The Direct3D 9 compatibilty mode (D3D10_SHADER_ENABLE_BACKWARDS_COMPATIBILITY) is not fully implemented.

Neighboring instructions may be incorrectly combined into one instruction even if they have different modifiers.

Because only a subset of HLSL optimizations and new features are active in this release, generated shaders will not be fully optimized.

D3DX10ComputeNormalMap Doesn't Support Mirror Addressing Modes
In the August 2006 SDK, D3DX10ComputeNormalMap doesn't support the mirror addressing modes.Per-Sample Readback of MSAA Render Targets in the Shader Not Supported in the Reference Rasterizer
In the August 2006 SDK, per-sample readback of MSAA render targets in the shader is not yet supported by the Direct3D 10 reference rasterizer.DXGI: Cross-Process Shared Surfaces Not Supported in the Reference Rasterizer
In the August 2006 SDK, cross-process shared surfaces are not supported when using the Reference Rasterizer. PIX for Windows
In the August 2006 SDK, PIX has the following issues:

Direct3D 10 API rendering requires Direct3D 10 to be installed on the system. Even if it is not installed on the system, the Direct3D object table and event pane will still work.

Some of the advanced features of the surface viewer in the PIX detail pane require a minimum of shader model 2.0 hardware.

PIX currently does not capture D3DX10 API calls. The Direct3D 10 API calls that the D3DX10 APIs make will be captured and can be replayed.

The pixel history feature does not currently support point, line, and instancing primitive types, which will be supported in a future release. Pixel history currently only works on non-multisampled render targets but support for multisampling will be added in a future release.

You cannot view Direct3D objects from the context menu until they are valid. To make an object valid, select an event in the render pane (or any other detail pane) after the object is created.

The "Modify D3D Device," "Modify Draw Calls," and "Save Device State" actions do not yet work for Direct3D devices.

For applications that use Direct3D 10, full stream capture only works when the trigger is "Program Start."

PIX no longer supports the capture of D3DX9 calls in applications that link to the static version of D3DX9 but PIX will continue to capture the D3D API calls that the D3DX API makes.

Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT)
In the August 2006 SDK, the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) has the following issues:

The XACT GUI is not yet supported in Windows Vista.

The XACT Authoring Tool is still in beta for this release. (The XACT engine is release quality and is included in the DirectX redistributable package.)

The XACT Authoring Tool requires administrative privileges to run.

Looping sounds with multiple tracks will get out of sync over time if some tracks have multiple variations and others don't.

Shader Debugging in Visual Studio 2005
In the August 2006 SDK, the shader debugging functionality of the DirectX Extensions for Visual Studio® does not work with Visual Studio 2005. (Syntax highlighting continues to work with Visual Studio 2005.)XInput
When XInputGetState is used to retrieve controller data, the left and right triggers are each reported separately. For legacy reasons, when DirectInput® retrieves controller data, the two triggers share the same axis. The legacy behavior is noticeable in the current Game Device Control Panel, which uses DirectInput for controller state.The XNA Framework and Managed DirectX 2.0 Beta
Microsoft is working on a new managed gaming framework, the XNA™ Framework, which will be used by both Windows® and Xbox 360™. The XNA Framework will eventually incorporate Managed DirectX (MDX) 2.0 beta. The MDX 2.0 beta libraries will remain unchanged as of the April 2006 SDK release and will continue to ship in subsequent DirectX SDK releases until a beta of the XNA Framework is made available.
Although Microsoft will try to make the transition between the two libraries as smooth as possible, Microsoft can make no guarantees that the MDX 2.0 beta API will be compatible with the XNA Framework API. As the XNA Framework matures, Microsoft will provide information and assistance to ease the transition.
The following is a preliminary list of changes bewteen the two APIs. This list is subject to change and will be updated as information about the XNA Framework becomes available.

DirectSound® will be replaced by the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT). Managed DirectSound will still be available for developers who use Managed DirectX 1.1.

DirectInput will be replaced by XInput. Managed DirectInput will still be available for developers who use Managed DirectX 1.1.

The XNA Framework will not support System.Windows and System.Drawing. Support for forms and fonts will be provided through other APIs.

The XNA Framework will have a new math library that defaults to a right-handed coordinate system.

Microsoft is actively investigating how to bring forward functionality from Direct3DX 9.0 into the XNA Framework. D3DX9 will still be supported in Managed DirectX 1.1.
Please note that Managed DirectX 1.1 is fully compatible with the .NET Framework 2.0.
If you have any questions, comments, and/or concerns please contact xna@microsoft.com.Installation Notes for All Platforms

Before installing the current DirectX SDK, you should remove previous versions of the DirectX SDK.

Some samples require that the latest Microsoft Platform SDK be installed on your system.

If you encounter compilation issues related to the DirectX headers, make sure that the include directories in Visual Studio are set correctly. On the Win32 platform, make sure that there is a reference to the DirectX headers: either "$(DXSDK_DIR)include" or "c:\program files\microsoft DirectX SDK (August 2006)\Include" underneath the include directory: "$(VCInstallDir)Include".

SDK Installation to a network share is not supported and some components (documentation and managed samples) will not run.

The Direct3D Reference Rasterizer is not installed on any version of the Windows Server 2003 product family.

Several virus protection software applications interfere with SDK installation and may require you to temporarily disable virus protection software until SDK installation is completed.

If you encounter "A cabinet file is necessary for installation and cannot be trusted" error during installation, your system may be corrupted or cryptographic services may be disabled. To attempt to resolve the problem, please try the following:

Enable cryptographic services: On the Start menu, right click on My Computer and then click Manage, which will display the Computer Management window. In the left panel of the window, click Services and Applications. Then, in the right panel of the window, double click on Services, then double click Cryptographic Services, which will display the Cryptographic Services Properties window. In the General tab of that window, make sure that Service Status is Started and that Startup Type is Automatic.

External firewall programs may highlight that the file "InstallDeveloperFiles.exe" wants to access the Internet. This is by design and should be enabled.

Installation Notes for Vista RC1
Running Microsoft_DirectX_SDK.msi instead of setup.exe requires "Run As Administrator" to work correctly. If you install using setup.exe instead of using the MSI, you will be prompted for elevated permissions and the installation can succeed.
This release does not install any Developer Runtime components on earlier versions of Windows Vista. If you are running Windows Vista Beta 2 (or earlier) and you need Developer Runtime components, you can use older releases of the DirectX SDK. Or you can copy the components that you need (debug DLLs and symbols) from "checked" builds of Vista. All release versions of D3DX and the latest debug version are installed on all versions of Windows Vista.

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